“What are the best books about or featuring Elephants?” We looked at 213 of the top Elephant books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 20 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Elephant” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 175+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 20 Elephant Books

20 .) At Large: The Fugitive Odyssey of Murray Hill and His Elephants by Gary Ross

Lists It Appears On:

• Biblio
• Global Elephants

Reveals the story of a retired circus trainer who sold his two elephants, stole them back when he realized they were being mistreated, and–with the help of the circus underground–dodged the FBI for five years. 35,000 first printing. $35,000 ad/promo. Tour.

19 .) Chained by Lynne Kelly

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• The Alternative

After ten-year-old Hastin’s family borrows money to pay for his sister’s hospital bill, he leaves his village in northern India to take a job as an elephant keeper and work off the debt. He thinks it will be an adventure, but he isn’t prepared for the cruel circus owner. The crowds that come to the circus see a lively animal who plays soccer and balances on milk bottles, but Hastin sees Nandita, a sweet elephant and his best friend, who is chained when she’s not performing and hurt with a hook until she learns tricks perfectly. Hastin protects Nandita as best as he can, knowing that the only way they will both survive is if he can find a way for them to escape.

18 .) Elephant Bill by J.H. Williams

Lists It Appears On:

• Biblio
• Goodreads

A book comes along like this once in a lifetime. You read it as a small child, or even as a adult, and never forget the images it conjures up, of a wonderful Englishman who lives in the mysterious forests of faraway Burma and of the kind native people who teach him about their lovely country. But most of all, you never forget the elephants! For this is a story about those magnificent creatures. Though he was officially known as Lt. Colonel J.H. Williams, the author was known to the world at large as “Elephant Bill”. That is because he spent 25 years living with the elephants in the mountains and forests of Burma. There he trained them to haul teak logs out of the isolated jungles. Yet this is also a story of great courage because when the Second World War struck, it also came to Burma. The Japanese Imperial Army planned to confiscate the Burmese elephants, drafting them to make the bridges and railways they needed to invade India. When he learned of these plans to put his beloved animals to a war-like purpose, Elephant Bill knew what had to be done. The mighty kings of the jungle had to be evacuated to safety.Personal story of Colonel Williams’ adventures in Burma. A bit tedious but quite interesting to read about his involvement with working elephants.

17 .) Hannah’s Dream by Diane Hammond

Lists It Appears On:

• Global Elephants
• Goodreads

An elephant never forgets . . . but can she dream? For forty-one years, Samson Brown has been caring for Hannah, the lone elephant at the down-at-the-heels Max L. Biedelman Zoo. Having vowed not to retire until an equally loving and devoted caretaker is found to replace him, Sam rejoices when smart, compassionate Neva Wilson is hired as the new elephant keeper. But Neva quickly discovers what Sam already knows: that despite their loving care, Hannah is isolated from other elephants and her feet are nearly ruined from standing on hard concrete all day. Using her contacts in the zookeeping world, Neva and Sam hatch a plan to send Hannah to an elephant sanctuary–just as the zoo’s angry, unhappy director launches an aggressive revitalization campaign that spotlights Hannah as the star attraction, inextricably tying Hannah’s future to the fate of the Max L. Biedelman Zoo. A charming, poignant, and captivating novel certain to enthrall readers of Water for Elephants, Diane Hammond’s Hannah’s Dream is a beautifully told tale rich in heart, humor, and intelligence.

16 .) Keepers of the Ark: An Elephant’s View of Captivity by R.J. Ryan

Lists It Appears On:

• Elehost
• Global Elephants

For many years, elephants have been exhibited in zoos and parks all over the world. This is the true story of how they were cared for, handled, and trained during the time the author worked as an elephant keeper at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. For the first time, the public can get a behind the scenes look at the daily life of captive elephants.

15 .) Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer

Lists It Appears On:

• Global Elephants
• Goodreads

Spanning several decades and three continents, Modoc is one of the most amazing true animal stories ever told. Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again; through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940s New York City. Modoc is a captivating true story of loyalty, friendship, and high adventure, to be treasured by animal lovers everywhere.

14 .) The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Ranker

With the same deadpan mania and genius for dislocation that he brought to his internationally acclaimed novels A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami makes this collection of stories a determined assault on the normal. A man sees his favorite elephant vanish into thin air; a newlywed couple suffers attacks of hunger that drive them to hold up a McDonald’s in the middle of the night; and a young woman discovers that she has become irresistible to a little green monster who burrows up through her backyard. By turns haunting and hilarious, The Elephant Vanishes is further proof of Murakami’s ability to cross the border between separate realities — and to come back bearing treasure.

13 .) The Elephant’s Child by Rudyard Kipling

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• The Alternative

Because of his ‘satiable curtiosity about what the crocodile has for dinner, the elephant’s child and all elephants thereafter have long trunks.

12 .) The Fate Of The Elephant by Douglas Chadwick

Lists It Appears On:

• Elehost
• Global Elephants

With a single hand, he can pull two palm trees to the ground. If he had two hands, he could tear the sky . . . So unfolds a Yoruba poem celebrating the largest, most powerful, and one of the smartest creatures to walk the planet: the elephant. In this richly detailed exploration of the natural history and troubled fate of both the African and Asian species of elephant, noted wildlife biologist and author Douglas Chadwick travels the world to acquaint us with these awesome giants. Through visits to India, Siberia, Botswana, Thailand, Malaysia, Kenya, and even an American zoo, Chadwick illustrates the pivotal role the elephant plays in shaping and balancing not only the ecosystems it calls home, but also the livelihoods of a wide array of people. We travel to East Africa and join elephant families on the savannas of Amboseli Reserve in the shadow of Kilimanjaro. In the thick jungles of the Congo Basin, Chadwick leads us down pygmy footpaths on the trail of the elusive forest elephant. In Asia we experience a day in the life of a working elephant at an Indian timber camp, and take a raft trip to transplant problem elephants to remote areas of the Malaysian rainforest. At the zoo, we watch a four-ton artist take brush in trunk and paint a canvas with delicate strokes.

11 .) The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Ranker

They say that diplomacy is a gentle art. That its finest practitioners are subtle, sophisticated individuals for whom nuance and subtext are meat and drink. And that mastering it is a lifetime’s work. But you do need a certain inclination in that direction. It’s not something you can just pick up on the job. Which is a shame if you find yourself dropped unaccountably into a position of some significant diplomatic responsibility. If you don’t really do diplomacy or haven’t been to school with the right foreign bigwigs or aren’t even sure whether a nod is as good as a wink to anyone, sighted or otherwise, then things are likely to go wrong. It’s just a question of how badly…

10 .) The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Ranker

In a highly awaited new novel, Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected — and making the extraordinary come true. What if? Why not? Could it be? When a fortuneteller’s tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller’s mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magician’s touch.

9 .) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Ranker

Winner of the 2007 BookBrowse Award for Most Popular Book. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.

8 .) When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

Lists It Appears On:

• Global Elephants
• Goodreads

This national bestseller exploring the complex emotional lives of animals was hailed as “a masterpiece” by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and as “marvelous” by Jane Goodall. The popularity of When Elephants Weep has swept the nation, as author Jeffrey Masson appeared on Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, and was profiled in People for his ground-breaking and fascinating study. Not since Darwin’s The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals has a book so thoroughly and effectively explored the full range of emotions that exist throughout the animal kingdom. From dancing squirrels to bashful gorillas to spiteful killer whales, Masson and coauthor Susan McCarthy bring forth fascinating anecdotes and illuminating insights that offer powerful proof of the existence of animal emotion. Chapters on love, joy, anger, fear, shame, compassion, and loneliness are framed by a provocative re-evaluation of how we treat animals, from hunting and eating them to scientific experimentation. Forming a complete and compelling picture of the inner lives of animals, When Elephants Weep assures that we will never look at animals in the same way again.

7 .) An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

Lists It Appears On:

• Global Elephants
• Goodreads
• The Alternative

With Lizzie’s father fighting in World War II, her mother takes on the job of a zoo keeper to provide for her family. Lizzie, her mother, and her eight-year-old brother Karli have become especially attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene. The bombing of Dresden is imminent and soon, so the zoo director explains that as a precautionary measure all the animals must be destroyed so that they’re not running wild through the city. Lizzie’s mother persuades the director to allow Marlene, the elephant, to come stay in the family’s garden. As predicted, Dresden is bombed, and the family, including Marlene, is forced from the city. Lizzie and her family aren’t alone. Thousands of Dresden residents are fleeing to find somewhere safe to stay. Lizzie’s mother has to find a different route out of the city to keep the elephant and the children safe from harm. Once they reach the abandoned home of their relatives, they come across Peter, a Canadian navigator who, by putting himself at risk of capture to save the family, gains their trust. This unlikely grouping of family, elephant, and enemy turned ally come together beautifully to illustrate the importance of love, resolve, and hope.

6 .) Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family by Cynthia Moss

Lists It Appears On:

• Elehost
• Global Elephants
• Goodreads

Cynthia Moss has studied the elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park for over twenty-seven years. Her long-term research has revealed much of what we now know about these complex and intelligent animals. Here she chronicles the lives of the members of the T families led by matriarchs Teresia, Slit Ear, Torn Ear, Tania, and Tuskless. With a new afterword catching up on the families and covering current conservation issues, Moss’s story will continue to fascinate animal lovers. “One is soon swept away by this ‘Babar’ for adults.

5 .) The Astonishing Elephant by Shana Alexander

Lists It Appears On:

• Biblio
• Elehost
• Global Elephants

“Elephant” contains the most marvelous stories and history about these mysterious behemoths, from Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps to Barnum’s Jumbo.

4 .) The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy

Lists It Appears On:

• Elehost
• Global Elephants
• Goodreads

A thrilling journey into the minds of African elephants as they struggle to survive. If, as many recent nonfiction bestsellers have revealed, animals possess emotions and awareness, they must also have stories. In “The White Bone,” a novel imagined entirely from the perspective of African elephants, Barbara Gowdy creates a world whole and separate that yet illuminates our own. For years, young Mud and her family have roamed the high grasses, swamps, and deserts of the sub-Sahara. Now the earth is scorched by drought, and the mutilated bodies of family and friends lie scattered on the ground, shot down by ivory hunters. Nothing-not the once familiar terrain, or the age-old rhythms of life, or even memory itself-seems reliable anymore. Yet a slim prophecy of hope is passed on from water hole to water hole: the sacred white bone of legend will point the elephants toward the Safe Place. And so begins a quest through Africa”s vast and perilous plains-until at last the survivors face a decisive trial of loyalty and courage.

3 .) To The Elephant Graveyard by Tarquin Hall

Lists It Appears On:

• Global Elephants
• Goodreads
• Ranker

On India’s northeast frontier, a killer elephant is on the rampage, stalking Assam’s paddy fields and murdering dozens of farmers. Local forestry officials, powerless to stop the elephant, call in one of India’s last licensed elephant hunters and issue a warrant for the rogue’s destruction. Reading about the ensuing hunt in a Delhi newspaper, journalist Tarquin Hall flies to Assam to investigate. To the Elephant Graveyard is the compelling account of the search for a killer elephant in the northeast corner of India, and a vivid portrait of the Khasi tribe, who live intimately with the elephants. Though it seems a world of peaceful coexistence between man and beast, Hall begins to see that the elephants are suffering, having lost their natural habitat to the destruction of the forests and modernization. Hungry, confused, and with little forest left to hide in, herds of elephants are slowly adapting to domestication, but many are resolute and furious. Often spellbinding with excitement, like “a page-turning detective tale” (Publishers Weekly), To the Elephant Graveyard is also intimate and moving, as Hall magnificently takes us on a journey to a place whose ancient ways are fast disappearing with the ever-shrinking forest.

2 .) Coming of Age With Elephants by Joyce Poole

Lists It Appears On:

• Biblio
• Elehost
• Global Elephants
• Goodreads

The educational and inspirational biography of Joyce Poole describes the life of a courageous woman who struggled with loneliness, sexism, and the threat of bandit-poachers to make her contribution to the conservation of the endangered African elephant.

1 .) Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants by Katy Payne

Lists It Appears On:

• Biblio
• Elehost
• Global Elephants
• Goodreads

A natural history rich in observation of the animal world and how humans participate in it, Silent Thunder is also a passionate story of scientist Katy Payne’s spiritual quest as she turns a keen eye on her role in this world. Starting with the story of her revolutionary discovery that elephants use infrasonic sounds–sounds below the range of human hearing–to communicate, Payne shares what she learned from her fascinating field research in Africa, research that reveals new insights into elephants’ social lives.

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